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July 3, 2012
City Agency Admits Illegal Lobby Effort
The Wall Street Journal
by Michael Howard Saul
Is there anyone or anything associated with the Atlantic Yards project that isn't crooked or corrupt? Anything?
New York City's economic-development agency and two related organizations admitted in a settlement Monday that they illegally lobbied the City Council on behalf of projects at the heart of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's redevelopment agenda.
The concessions came after a three-year probe by the state attorney general's office. Investigators found that the Economic Development Corp. worked behind the scenes with the groups—called local development corporations—to nudge lawmakers to support projects in Willets Point in Queens and Coney Island in Brooklyn.
Let's not forget their knowingly dishonest Atlantic Yards boosterism.
"These local development corporations flouted the law and lobbied elected officials, both directly and through third parties," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.
...The findings seemed to give ammunition to critics of the Bloomberg administration and its economic-development arm, which has been accused of pushing through large-scale projects over community objections.
Where've we seen this phony astroturf act before?
In pushing the Council for zoning and other land-use changes, city officials "took steps to foster the appearance of independent 'grass-roots' support for the projects in the local community," said the agreement signed Monday by the EDC and the other groups.
For example, the agreement said the EDC directed the Queens group to use its fax machine to send a letter drafted by city officials about the Willets Point project to Council members because, in the words of one city official, "we felt this letter coming from our fax machine would have been lobbying."
Other lobbying activities included ghostwriting op-eds and preparing testimony, according to the agreement.
Heads will roll, though, right?
The finding carries no fine or harsher penalty.
NoLandGrab: Let us be the first to call publicly for EDC President Seth Pinsky to join Barclays' "Diamond" Bob Diamond in tendering his resignation.
Posted by eric at July 3, 2012 2:02 PM